


Of Song and Story

by MadSoullessQueen



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Funeral, Minstrel, RuLu, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 13:44:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16430522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadSoullessQueen/pseuds/MadSoullessQueen
Summary: Upon hearing of his mother's illness soon to end her life, Rufus returns to his brith place to see her before the end. Alone and hollow Lucy follows the wind and stories of people she meets to Minstrel to reclaim the pieces of her heart. Neither of them would guess that fate would bring them together. Rufus x Lucy (RuLu)





	Of Song and Story

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

* * *

Rufus had returned to his birthplace, Neorah in the Castle of the Unicorn Clan of Minstrel. The small city nestled in the curve of the Talera River under the shadows of Horned Mountains. It was a beautiful place of color, wonder, crystal and art made from stone and wood fashioned into buildings. To describe it to anyone not from Minstrel was always difficult and so Rufus never spoke much of his birthplace.

It was here he learned to tell stories, sing and play the mandolin. Under the long nights with his mother he learned the art of the bard and carried the memories and songs with him wherever he went. Under the light of day, he learned story and poem from his father. In the moments between he danced with his sister and laughed at many things. His childhood was joyous and those memories he recalled, all in perfect detail, he was never inclined to share. No one he had ever met outside of home, seemed to care and he hid the talents of his family in favor of might and magic.

By tradition when his Walk of Heart came upon him; he set out to learn from the other clans, but he didn't stay within Minstrel. Breaking the ancient tradition, he warned to places outside of it to learn and create his own tales of battle, heroes, villains and life.

Years of being away and he started to not recognize the man who left all that happiness behind. He still wore the style of clothing from his home, it was all he had left of his previous art and life. Everything rushed over him at once, the homesickness finally fueling great sadness in his being. This is how he started to question all of it, sadly it was a heartbreaking reason that he returned home.

It was this day, the last day he would see his mother and her beautiful green eyes filled with life. Having received word from his sister that her long-time illness had finally begin to crescendo, he left immediately. His guildmates had wished him well and told him to come home when he was ready. Rufus was not certain how long that would be or if he even wanted to return a place that was both darkness and light.

His mother had one request that he find the song of his heart and tell her a story. Rufus recalled the story of a woman with sunlight in her hair and the stars in her eyes. How even though she was wounded and tortured her defiance showed a strength that would reach to Heaven. He told the story of what he knew of Lucy Heartfilia, a lady of complexity; unlike anyone he ever met.

His mother had loved the story and thanks to his unique molding magic he could recall every detail of Lucy with clarity. She had wished, a wish she would carry to Heaven in song that perhaps the stars would touch him in return for his tale. "Rufus, I will ask the Woman Who Sings, the Goddess above to send the woman of your tale to repair your heart." The final words spoken as she touched his face one last time before her eyes closed and she had no more breath in her body.

As they laid their mother to rest, Rufus took her old mandolin, passed down through three generations and began to sing. His long fingers graced the old instrument as he performed the Song of Reverence. Clanmates had gathered far and wide to hear a Lore sing and play. His art, his mother's art would be in tribute to everything he was and everything he would be.

His beautiful sister joined with him and as they did as children he played and sang. Amerial danced, her performance and movements flowing with each note he plucked. Behind his mask the tears fell as they sent their mother's soul to the great beyond. Forever she would play and sing alongside their father as he wrote poetry for God and Angels alike.

The last notes of his song played, and his sister held him in her arms, the people around him offered their voices. The Bards of the Red Moon poured their heart into seeing such a wondrous woman ascend to a place where all music, story and art never stopped. In their choir of solemn music, he openly wept, recalling memories and feelings he had long forgotten. His soul and more importantly the music of his soul, opened anew and he felt more in this day than he had in years.

The last of the lanterns floated above, the winds carrying them far and wide. "Do you see the heart they form?" Amerial had asked.

Rufus looked carefully to see what his sister had seen in the patterns of lights. There, he could just barely make it out before the wind shifted the shape of heart began to pull apart. "She still sends her love to us, her home and the Bards we call family. She is granting your wish, dear brother. A wish she made for me and my heart piece."

He held his sister's hand and looked into the same dark green eyes he had, the eyes of their mother. Though his sister was graced to not have the same prominent nose as their father. Amerial was beautiful, like a nymph of old, svelte and full of grace, her darker blonde hair long and full pulled up into braids and beads marking her as a dancer. Rufus loved her immensely and the memories of her art of movement would make him smile when the nights were cold, and he felt lonely.

"Always the romantic, like father." He said, smiling at her.

"Have you forgotten how to be romantic? He taught us well and it would be a shame to his art and memory if you did not see as he did."

"I remember everything, better than I can describe. Though what I remember is not always what I practice." Rufus said as his sister squeezed his hand.

"Then perhaps you need to look closer, find the stars and sun. For I think she sits within the crowd smiling at Heaven." Amerial smiled and pointed towards the stage he was just upon.

Rufus tilted his head and fixed his gaze, following her finger. His jaw fell open and had no words for the large brown eyes that, for a brief moment, met his. Breathing was difficult during that moment and he wondered what kind of lasting magic his mother did have as her music left this world.

His feet developed a mind of their own as his sister laughed and pushed him away. The crowd blocked the path his feet wished to travel, as many people and family he had not seen in years held him and cried. Though he wanted to see Lucy again he had people to mourn with and new stories to learn. Stories of the years he had missed while he wrote the ballads of his life.

Hours had passed as once solemn moments turned into celebration. Wine flowed freely, and fires stoked higher and the music, stories and songs of the Red Moon grew louder. The life and gifts of the Lore family were told, sung, played, danced, and recited to create the peace that refilled his empty heart. Cousins invited him to play alongside of them and play he did, taking his place as The Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon.

The sun was rising when silence fell, and people went home to rest. As tradition they would rest and not enjoy art until the sun was highest in the sky. The tradition seen as a way to allow the artist who passed a chance to be heard in Heaven and Rufus was intent to listen closely.

He held a goblet in his hands as he sat on the patio of his childhood home. The sky turning colors and the sun began to move shadows out of the way. Wind chimes, lazy in their movements, with the gentle wind formed their own melody. As he tipped back the last of the wine and felt the warmth around him he was startled when a hand grabbed his.

The woman he once cheered and enjoyed the torture upon her said nothing and yet her kindness said everything. Lucy's eyes were wet, like his and he just knew that for all the pain he felt; she had once felt it herself.

She was as beautiful today as when he first saw her at the Grand Magic Games. Her delicate face, long blonde hair and a figure that could inspire bawdy pub tales. Lucy wore a simple dark purple off the shoulder long dress, the color of mourning to his clan. It was a beautiful color that fit her skin tone well, accenting the lightness of it.

"How and why are you here?" He whispered, trying to maintain the traditions of mourning.

"I don't know, but on a whim, I followed my heart. Maybe this moment is why." Lucy said and to a bard this elegance of answer and poetry of honest voice was a true gift.

Rufus started to feel as if he finally came home.

* * *

Lucy had lost much, her oldest spirit and friend and then her nakama. Her world split apart, and she could no longer stand to look at the place she learned to call her truest home. Abandoned, heart sick, empty and she had lost her way. The celestial mage had lost her ability to write because she had lost her heart.

As she walked through the park on the third day of being alone she heard something in the wind. A strange weeping sound brought on by the movements of the willow trees beside her favorite bench in the park. Lucy watched as leaves began to fall, all of them floating in the same direction.

As a person who believed in fate and learned to trust her own instincts she decided to follow the wind. The wind she had given a name to that day, the Wind of Story. Lucy immediately filled a bag with clothes, her unfinished book and letters to her mother. Her other items stored in the Celestial Realm for when she would find a new home.

As she walked she stayed at an inn and it was there she met a beautiful man who told her stories. She listened for hours until her eyes grew heavy and the storyteller had woken her. He escorted her to her room and when she had asked him how she could learn to tell a story like him; he spoke of the Castle of the Unicorn in Minstrel.

It was a southern territory that was divided between a part of the mainland, a section of the main island and a small island all to itself. The climate was mild, making for days of comfort where outside play was quite common. The Castle of the Unicorn was the Minstrel clan of the truest artists. Their towns hosting art of all kinds in large buildings where one could create, teach and learn. Storytellers, jewelry makers, dancers, poets and any other form of expression was revered, as long as it was created with the light of your being. The way he spoke of it made it seem like a blending of story and myth but real enough to witness.

Somehow and someway she knew because of that night she would remember how to write again. Lucy took the last of her Jewel and booked passage on a ship bound for a land she had never seen before. She worried and doubted for fleeting moments, but fate would give her glimpses to show the path was true.

The trip was not without its ups and down from raging storms to calm sunsets, each mile they traveled she started to find peace. During that time, she met others from Minstrel who were returning home with their art from other lands. Lucy would talk for hours with anyone who speak to her as she asked about their life and culture. They all spoke in the same regard and awe that the storyteller from the inn had spoken.

It was a robust woman, Roshana who reminded her how to laugh and gave her hope. The way she spoke of words and tales had reminded Lucy that her story was not finished. Lucy, in the weeks upon the ship, learned much from the fiery redhead with crystal blue eyes.

When the ship came into port, Ro had offered to let her stay with her, for as long as Lucy needed. To the Castle of the Unicorn to not take in provide shelter, inspiration and food to a lost artist was sin. Though Lucy hated to not stand on her own, she could not turn down such an important tradition to a new friend. To do as such would only makes her feel worse than the feeling of being in debt or feeling weak.

She had been here three months and found a new path in teaching. Lucy taught grammar, composition, story form and the art of a well-cooked meal. As she taught people of all ages, she taught herself about herself and each new day she held her head higher.

Now she was in her own small place and started writing again. She wrote the story of her best friend, her life and love of Fairy Tail. Lucy wrote all of her life, from the worse memories to the best and spent hours writing of her mother.

Her story of  _The Salamander and The Stars_  became a small sensation, earning her a modest income. Though it was against their culture to ask for money for teaching art, people gave freely. They gave jewelry, clothes, food, spices, poems, paintings and much more of the art of their very soul. Travelers were the ones who often gave Sunarios, Minstrel's currency, and the modest amounts were more than enough to put a roof over her head.

For once, Lucy didn't worry about rent and if she was worried; the stone shaper who owned the place she lived in, would take cooking lessons in place of money. Burdens of her old life slowly melted away, but she would never forget them because they taught her how to begin anew.

In sixteen more months, if she chose to stay, she would choose a representation of her art form and become a Unicorn of her own. Lucy did not know if she would stay that long but each day as she fell in love with the new Lucy she was becoming, the decision became easier to make. After all, why return to the people who left you cold and broken?

Tonight, Lucy found another reason why fate had guided her here. Why fate had begun to smile upon her with this new life. It was to watch the sunrise and mourn a pain she had felt in her childhood with Rufus.

The first time she met Rufus he was cold and cruel, like many of Sabertooth under the control of their previous Guildmaster. Yet, Lucy could not deny the attraction she felt as she looked at the man who wore red. His mask hid his face, which she assumed to be a beautiful face, perhaps too beautiful to be shown. The decadence of his outfit spoke volumes about the personality hiding behind what he showed to her and Fairy Tail itself. Something about him, an anomaly she could not place would stay with her in dreams of day and night.

To hear him tonight play and sing was breathtaking. This was something she would have never guessed, that Rufus Lore was gifted minstrel. His voice was elegant and powerful, not enough to override the sounds of his mandolin, just enough to accompany its own music. The woman who danced as he played, moved with not just grace but with fluid motions as if she was stepping on each note he played.

The people around her had talked about their mother, Jaqueline, in reverence. They also talked about how Rufus had wandered beyond Minstrel to learn of music and tale. Lucy learned much in the celebration of Jaqueline's life but most of all she learned about the man who sat beside her.

"Thank you," Rufus whispered as he kissed her hand. To keep with the tradition of silence Lucy gave a nod.

The sun rose but Rufus did not let go of her hand, if anything with each minute they moved a bit closer to each other. After a few hours they shared a chaise lounge, his head in her lap as she stroked his hair. Then, without warning he had pressed his face into her stomach and began to quietly sob. It was a very familiar sob, it was the one she had when her mother had left this world.

Lucy paid attention to each shudder of his shoulders, the intake of breath and felt each tear as her clothes soaked them up. In the quiet of his mourning before the sun rose to its height of the day, Lucy held an old foe as if he was an old friend. Fate, she decided was truly a strange thing.

* * *

How this story formed exactly I couldn't tell you. I know another RuLu story was requested by GP00 (how am I doing so far?). Somehow my brain latched onto the idea and started writing itself, instead of letting me sleep.

Rufus is also known as The Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon and I wanted to explore that. As I write more and more and after long conversations with Desna, I decided to craft Minstrel into my piece of Earth Land. You'll see or have seen mentions of it and the different clans that make up the land, from the War Dancers mentioned in  _Sunday of 7 More Days_ , to the Mind Scions in  _Thorn in His Side_ , Strategists of the Sun in  _Win a Date!_  and Free Mages mentioned in Friday of  _7 More Days_. This story will show you more of Minstrel, but instead of an information dump, I am thinking (half asleep) that as Rufus and Lucy tell their story they will explore all of Minstrel for you.

How long their tale goes on for, no clue and with my other stories (that hopefully I can get back to writing now that other stories are clearing my head) this may (keyword) update very slowly.

As always please  **kudos, bookmark and comment**. They mean so much and so such little time to achieve. Honestly it's the only measure of a story's success and my ability to craft one, that I have.


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